Collating machine



May 30, 1961 R. G. WALKER COLLATING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Sept. 27, 1956 T0351? 7- G Wax 5,: 5 25 May 30, 1961 R. s. WALKER COLLATING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Sept. 27, 1956 vms //1 ans rm Foes/er G. Wan Ave y 1961 R. e. WALKER 2,986,391

COLLATING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 27, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 3 May 30, 1961- R. G. WALKER COLLATING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Sept. 27, 1956 Mus/Woe T0559? 6-. M94 sxe May 30, 1961 R. G. WALKER COLLATING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 27, 1956 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 $055,4 5, AKQ LA EE May 30, 1961 R. e. WALKER COLLATING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed Sept. 27, 1956 May 30, 1961 Original Filed Sept. 27, 1956 R. G. WALKER COLLATING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 y o o I Q86 5 226 I; i 23! 228 i PI .28 202 g 216 {W204 224 L 222 2/8 g 220 g :98 L

A n-Wm 1 05927 6 MAM 5K y 0, 1961 R. e. WALKER 2,986,391

COLLATING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Original Filed Sept. 27, 1956 I98 M202 204W 2 00 This invention relates to a collating machine for as-' sembling'sheets of paper, cards and the like into-packet form and in some preferred order.

In preparing the machine for operation,-"a number of individually printed sheets of {paper are stackedin separate st'ations so that each station contains a number ofidentically printed pages. The order of location of the stations determines the order inwhich'the sheets are assembled in packet form. The underlying principle of the invention is to dispense sheets from the various stations'in timed sequence so that separate sheets from each station are laid one over the other in successive order and in registry. a

With previous collating machines, there have been several operational difiiculties involved in the dispensing of the sheets ofpaper from their respective stations; namely, dispensing the proper quantity of paper, wrin- Uei ed St t s Paten Fig. 2. is a fragmentary front view lookingthe'difree tion of the arrows 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows the side of the machine opposite that of Fig. 1 and iIIustrates one position of the; leverage operating ys m;

x Fig. 4;is an enlarged view of the crank portionof 'the' leverage operating system (shown reduced in theupper.

left-hand corner of Fig. 3); -1 l Fig. 5 is an enlarged side view of the crank shownin Fig. 3, looking in the direction of'the'arrows-55 in rFig. 61is an end view of the hood which 'is located at the uppermost part of the conveyor, looking in the direc tion of the arrows 6-6 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a side thereof; I

Fig. 8 is anenlarged detailview of the pressure roller and elevator belt assembly;

- Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken on line 9-9 of 8;

. Figs. 10 and 11 are enlarged topand side views,-respec-' v tively, of the storage means for holding the papeni kling of the paper during'the dispensing, and providing that-the'dispensing devices will completely expend the paper in each station. inventionto provide a combination dispensing device and storage means for the paper which will correct these noted deficiences.

The-collating machine} is cyclic and during each cycle asheet of paperis dispensed from each separate storage means in timed relation with respect to each other, and

in' coordination with a conveyor so that packets of col-' lected sheets are formed in the order of their-occurrence in'the separate spaced apart storage stations. -In order to accomplish this, there must be provided an'actuatin'g mechanism for the various dispensing devices which so coordinates the operation of these devices that they will be actuated in the proper sequence. 7 It is an object of this invention to provide collating machine mechanism which is-relatively simple in design, economical to manufacture and efiicient in operation.

" Itis another object of this invention to provide a colto and including the last sheet.

It is still another object to provide in a collating machine a sheet-feeding mechanism which operates to dispense only'the top-most sheet from" a stack of sheets in sequence. V

It is yet another from a plurality of separated storage stations sheets of paper in precise sequential registry.

This application is a division of my copending appli-' cation, Serial No. 612,467, filed September 27, 1956, now abandoned.

.Other objects and features of the invention will bewherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the collating machine with aportionof the j guide rampbroken away to illustrate the storage and dispensing means;

It is one of the objects of the g h object of this invention to provide'a sheet-feeding mechanism operative'to dispense cyclically Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken on ,line 1212"of Fig. 10; I

Figs. 13, 14 and 15. are sectional views taken on th respective section lines in Fig. 11;

Fig. '16 is a bottom view of the dispensing device;

Fig. 17 is a sectional view taken on section line 17-17 of Fig. 16;

Figs. 18 and 19 are detail views of the leverage operating system rotated ninety (90") degrees and one hundredeighty (1809:) degrees; respectively, from the position shown in Fig. 3;

Figs. 20 and 21 are sectional cated section lines in Fig- 18;

-'Fig. 22 is an enlarged detail'view of the collector shown views taken on the indiin sideelevation and detached from the collating ma-- chine; 1 .1

Figs. 23 and 24 are sectional views taken on the respective section lines in Fig. 22; Fig. 25 "shows the guide mechanism of the collector in oneangular position, and viewed from the right-hand side of Fig. 22;

Fig. 26 illustrates the next succeeding movement of the elements from the positionindicated in Fig. 25;

"Fig. 27 is a sectional view illustrating the toggle spring taken on line 27-27 of Fig. 26;

Fig. 28 is a detail view of the linkage for operating the collector; I

Fig. 29 is a sectional view of the base of the collector taken on line 2929 of Fig. 22, and showing two packets f er ositioned'on the base of the collector; latlfig ma h ne feeding mechanism which operates to f a 0 P P P individual sheets of paper from a stock in sequence down 3 Fig. 30 is-a detailview of one angular position of the guide members, showing how the inc'omingpacket of tilted: supporting edges at. the base of the. storage;

- Fig. 31 is a sectional view taken on section line 31-31 of-Fig. 30;

Fig. 32 is adetail view showing the extent of angu-.

lar movement of the. guide members in a direction opposite that shown'in Fig. 30;

storage stations 54, sheet separators 56, dispensing de- Fig. 33 is a sectional view taken on the indicated section line in Fig. 32; and

- Fig. 34 is a sectional view taken on section line 34--34 in Fig. 22. l

'Thecollating machine indicated by reference numeral 50 in Fig.- 1 comprises generally six subassemblies which are inter-related in operation, as will be evident from a consideration of the functioning of the machine. These subassemblies ared'esi gnated as a conveyor 52, paper Pa t-e Ma swim...

view of Fig. 6 taken ,on line 7 7 icc ni ilrd psns as satlia nssys e han cc a, ,1- fi fiiii The conveyor 52 includes an" inclinedramp 64 (Fig.-

9) with turned up sides 66 and 68 which are spaced a 'part width of the pape'r-which 'is-to be colle'cted. The conveyor is supported on a base 70 anduprightbraee com-- posed of supportinglegs-2tl2,204. I

1 Referring to Figsal and 9, the-inclined through-which estend-'bo1ts 76 that rotat ably support'pul- 1eys -78 at spaced apart conveyor.

-At the is passed over thepulley's 7-8, t'he power take-01f -pulle 'y 80,

idler roller 83 and the power wheel 84 (Fig s'. l and 2).

The'power wheel 84 is mounted on ashaft 86 ('Fig.: 2) which is driven through a speed' reduction belt-an-d-wheel combination 88 by an electric motor-90 in the manner indicated 'in Fig. '1. I I

Opposing the pulleys 78, at the opposite side of belt 82, area number of pressure rollers 92 having a soft rubber ramp 64 issplit centrally and has two longitudinally extending flanges;'74-

intervals along the lengthof-the top of' the conveyoris a powertake-otf pulley 80. An endless belt 82 of rubber composition or the like .w l uoh s. a reat resis c t buckli g. when a is 1 soft rubber mat makes it possible to entirely expend the aperfrom-the. tray down tothe last sheetof paper, the mat simulating a small stack of paper.

Sheet separators I l nden-purpose. of sheet separators56'is to causei withdrawal of one sheet at a time from the stack 11 6 -contained in the storage station. Whatever is dispensed irom each station becomes a page of the assembled packet and so to prevent duplication of pages it is important to limit the,- dis'pensingfromeachastation.to single sheets. I

. A sheet sjeparatcrgisprovided etgeach paperstoragesta-l: tion 54 but only one wil-lbe described since they-:are. all: identically. constructed. K .1 p

, Referring to'Fig, 10 there is providedgat: 'onesilclc of. the;

" tray-1-18 a crooked-finger 13,8 fastened atone: end- ;to 1the;

tire 94. The pressure rollers are supported on shafts 96" (Figs; 1, 9) which are floatably received in slots 8 formed in the sides 66', 68 (Figs. 8, 9") of the conveyor.

This floatable arrangement enables different thicknesses of packets to pass between the belt 82' and the tire. 94"of the pressure roller. Each pressure roller 92 is biasedtoward the belt 82 by an associated" spring strap 100 (Figs. 1, 2) which also serves a a paper 'guid'e, as willLbecon'a apparent from later description.

At the end of the conveyor isa guide shield 102 (Figs:

6, 7) that is pivoted'at 104'and has a generally semi-circular' cross-section to direct theassembled packet of paper from the conveyor 52 to the collector 62.

' Three spaced shafts106 are mounted at the ends thereof (Figs. 6, 7) in rubber grommets'108 held by. brackets 110 that'are fastened to the shield 102. The rubber grom mets urge the shaft 106 and thusrollers 112, which are rotatably mounted on the shaft, toward the belt 82. A slot 114 in the shield permits the rollers: 112 to move into contact with the endless belt 82.

The guide shield'102 may beswung back to the dot.dash

line position indicated in Fig. 7 if theassembled packets:

supportedhorizontally and are arranged in stepped rel a tion. Each paper storage station is identically constructed so thatdetailed explanation of one will suffice for all.

Sheet paper is stacked into piles 1.16 in the various stations according to the order of assembly. Thus the paper stackedat the lowest station in Fig. 1 will be the-firstiir' the order of the assembled packet, the paper in the next higher station will become the second sheet in the packet, and so forth .onthrough, to the eighth sheet, which is found in the highest station. 7

Each paper station (Figs. 10, ll and 1-2) comprises'a tray 118 having a soft rubber mat'120-at-the-bottorn thereof, two (2) sides 122, and an open end 124. A rectangu-l lar cutout portion 126 of the mat exposes the'base 128 of the tray, and an elongated dimple 130 isformed in the'exa posed portion of the base 128. for a purpose to be explained later.

' Anupwardly slopingportion 132' atfthe rear of the-tray; providessra. curvature in the sheets ofipaper 116 SQ that theyi sid 1220!? ray; 11-8 and. has a. rubber pad-1.40 at theotheri end which is brought into engagement'wit-h. the, bent or curved portion ofthe stacked paper 116;

Atthe' opposite side of; the tray (Fig. 13 is an; inclined. rubber pad 142 which forcibly engages; the edges ofthe upper stackedsheets ati thebent portions-thereof. Bend-i ing the sheets increases their resistance to bucklingundcr; the clamping load of the two pads;140.-and- 142.

The, rubber pad 142 'ismounted" on a backing member. 144-which-isin turn fastened to a'bracket146. canted, pin 148'ispassed through openings 149-inthe'bracket 1'46; and openings 151 atone; end of a channel shapedlmember ISO-whichis-pivotally. supported at'the other end-pa Pe pendicular pin152 Figs..10, '11,14). The pin; 1521s;

- .1 carried by theside 122 of the tray through a rnountingf bracket 15 4;, p I 1 1 A torsion spring 156 is wound arOundpin- I SZ and has, anextended-end 158 which bears against canted pin 1'48 thustending to turn the channel shaped member in; the direction indicated by. the arrows-in Fig. 10 to-forcib1y engagethe pad 142 with-theuppermost sheets of-stach 116 (Fig. 13). a Y

The net efiect of the frictional engagement ofpads 140: and 142 with the edges of'the upper. sheets isto; oyercome; the frictional contact between the-uppermostshetofthe stack and the contiguous sheet so-that as the uppermost sheet is dispensed it canbe caused-to slide over the surface of the contiguoussheet and separated; therefrom.

v Dispensing device .A dispensing device 58 is provided at each storage station54- to dispense-sheets of paper from thestoragesta tion. The, dispensing devices; are-all identically con-- structed so that the following detailed descriptionzof one; will sufiicc for all; p

. A channel-shapedpush rod-159 (Figs; 2., 12, 16, 17.)-is declined-in: the direction toward whichpaperis-to be dispensed. The push rod is hinge mounted at one end 161-, and has .a'pair of serrated soft rubberrollers mounted on shaft -162:atthe other end 164. A one-way, coil-spring clutch 166 is wound around axle162- (Figs. 16, 17).to; lock the rollers 160 against rotation during movement of. the dispensing device in: a dispensing direction so that the rollers160 will push a piece of paper out'ofi the storage station 54 and into the conveyor 52. The limit'of movement of the dispensing device in. a dispensing direction is' indicatedby-the dotted outline .in Fig. 12, and the, limit. ofretractile movement of the dispensing device, 58, shown in full lines.

At the very end ofthe dispensingdevice 58 is: a

roller,l68(Figs. 12, 16..and.17) whichiis journalledah lifting I 162. The roller 168 is displaced sutiiciently from the pivot center of the bracket so that the weight of the roller 168 will swing the bracket 170 from the position shown in Fig. 12 to the dotted position shown in Fig. 17 when the paper is completely expended from the tray. The roller 168 enters the dimple 130 and movement of the dispensing device in the dispensing direction will pivot the bracket 170 further until end 172 engages the undersurface of pusher 159 to thereby lift the rollers 160 out of engagement with the rubber mat 120. (Note the clearance between the roller 160 and mat 120 in Fig. 17.) This lifting action will prevent damage to the mat 120 and roller 160 which is locked against rotation during movement in the dispensing direction, since movement of the rollers over the mat surface with the rollers 160 locked could scufi or tear both the rollers 160 and mat 120.

While the dispensing device is being retracted, the rollers 160 are free to turn and thus do not disturb the position of the uppermost sheet next to be dispensed.

Actuating system The actuating system 60 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) which operates the dispensing devices 58 is motivated by power takeoff wheel 80 which is driven by conveyor belt 82 (Fig. 7).

The power take-off wheel 80 turns crankshaft 173 (Fig. 5) and crank 175 (Figs. 3, 4, 18, 19) at the end thereof. The crank has a throw or crankpin 177 which pivotally receives a connecting rod 179, and it will be noted from Figs. 4 and 5 that the arm 181 which is secured to the crankpin 177 extends outwardly to provide a pivotal drive connection 183 which is angularly displaced from the crankpin 177 by ninety degrees (90) from the axis (173) of rotation of the crank 175. This ninety degree (90) displacement of drive connection 183 and crankpin 177 is maintained during rotation of the crank 175 since the parts are all secured rigidly together. A second connect ing rod 184a is fastened to the drive connection 183' so that rotation of the crank 175 drives the two connecting rods 179 and 184a with ninety degree (90) phase displacement.

The connecting rod 184a is operatively fastened to a first set of rockable levers 176 (Figs. 3, 18 and 19) which are pivoted at'178 on a reinforcement 179a attached to side 68 of the conveyor. The levers, it will be noted, are alternating levers of a leverage system.

Cross links 180 having articulated connections 182 with levers 176 interconnect the levers so they are caused'to move in unison and furthermore, because of the location of the articulated connections relatively to the pivots 178, the'adjacent connected levers 176 are caused to swing in opposite directions and are thereby one hundred eighty degrees (180) displaced in phase of operation. a

The connecting rod 179 is operatively secured to a se 0nd set of levers 184 which are pivoted at 186 and are interconnected by cross links 188 having articulated connections 190 which cause the levers 184 to move in unison. The adjacent interconnected levers 184 are caused to move eighty degrees (180) in operation.

During a complete cycle of operation, each of the fre ends of the levers, which is operatively secured to a pusher 159 of the dispensing device, is rocked from an extreme leftward position (Fig. 19), which is designated 0 through an upright position of ninety degrees (90), then to an extreme rightward position 180 whereupon the direction of motion is reversed to the upward position of 270 and finally to its original position of 360. This rocking movement of the levers is both cyclic and continuous.

Referring still to Fig. 19, the successive levers of both sets of levers are initially arranged so as to be displaced by 90 phase increments and in progressive order. Thus, as the lowest lever is in a 90 position, the next succeeding lever is at a 360 position, the next following lever is at 270 position, the following 180", the following 90, and so forth until the uppermost lever is reached.

6 Since each successive lever is displaced inphase, each set of interconnected levers must be operated with 90 phase displacement. This is properly provided for since, as previously explained, the two connecting rods 179' and 184a which are connected to the respective sets are displaced by 90 according to their connection with.

the crankpin 177, connection 183 with crank 175. The net result is that the individual levers which are successively displaced 90 in phase and in progressive order are also operated cyclically while maintaining this relative displacement.

With this arrangement, the operation of the dispensing devices 58 is coordinated such that sheets of paper are dispensed from the storage stations 54 in the order of their occurrence in the respective storage stations.

Furthermore, the dispensing of sheets occurs in timed relation with movement of the conveyor belt 82 so that the dispensed sheets are laid one over the other in the order of their occurrence in successive storage trays to make up the assembled packet.

Collector The purpose of collector 62 is to receive and store the packets of assembled paper in such a manner that successive packets are tipped angularly, and being thus staggered it is possible to individualize the packets without leafing through a stack of packets to find the starting and ending sheet of each packet.

The collector comprises two guide members 192 and 194 (Figs. 25, 26, 30 and 32) which are connected together by a transverse strap 196 having pivot connections therewith, said guide members being swingably mounted at 198 and 200 on stationaryinclined support legs202 and 204. Referring to Fig. 24, the limit of angular movement of the guide members is determined by engagement of a rubber bumper 205 on the guide member with an adjustable stop 207 on the support legs 20 2, 204.

The guide members have guide channels 203 (Figs. 23, 24, 31) which determine the attitude of the incoming packet according to the angular positions of the guide members. Compare the positions of the guide members in Figs. 30 and 32. v

Referring to Figs. 1, 3 and 22, there is provided a sloping base 206 which supports the bottom edges of the packets, and'these are formed so that there are provided two slightly skewed sides 208 and 210 (Figs. 32, 30) which match the corners of first one packet and then the next to establish a staggered angularity of the packets.

An upright backing plate 212 (Figs. 1, 3, 22) having side mounting brackets 212a (Figs. 23, 34) is slidably received on the upright flanges 214 (Fig. 34) of base 206, and the packets are stacked thereagainst.

' To change the angular position of the guide members 192, 194 for each successive packet, there is provided a reciprocable pitman 216 (Figs. 25, 26 and 28) having a cross member 219 with two spaced apart cam blocks 221 that are engageable with upwardly slanting cam followers 223 fixedly secured to guide members 192 and 194, respectively. i

A toggle spring 225 is used to hold the guide members 192, 194 in either of the angular positions shown in Figs. 26 and 32.

Spring 227 which is held at one end by fixed brace 229 and is fastened at the other end to the cross member 219 causes the cross member to return to its centered position (Fig. 26) when the cam blocks 221 are moved out of engagement with cam followers 223.

The lower end 230 (Fig. 28) of pitman 216 has a knee bend terminating in a pivotal connection 218 with rocker arm 220. Rock-shaft 222 is secured to rocker arm 220 and a second rocker arm 224 is movable between the angular limits shown in Fig. 28 by an operating lever 226 which is tied at 226a to the lower end of lever 17 6 adjacent the connection with connecting rod 184a as shown in Fig. 3 to coordinate operation of the collector with the other mechanism Qfthe collating machine. Also tied in with the operatinglever 226 'is a pusher 228 (Figs. 3', 22, 31 and. 331 which is moved against the surface of the last received packet of paper in the guide member to displace it from the guidemembers 192, 194 and to also shove the backing' 212' (dotted lines Fig. 22) farther away from the guide members 192, 194 by a distance equalingthe thickness of the packet whereby the guide members may receive af successive packet.

structurally, the pusher 228'comprises two spaced apart straps 231 (Figs. 31, 33) which pass between the support legs 202'and 2'04, and guide members 192'and 194. The straps 231aresupportcd on the rocker arm 224as indicated in Fig. 22. The pusher is operable in timed relation with the guide. members 192, 194, since both the pusher 22.8Iand' guide members 192, 194 are controlled by rocker arm 224.

Operation The collating machine operation will be explained with reference to assembling sheets of paper into an eight page booklet. Sheets 1 through 8' are separately printed and are stacked .into the paper storage means 54 so that the lowest tray isfilled with sheets of paper which are page-8,v

the next higher tray is filled with page 7 sheets and so on in .sequence to the highest tray which is filled with the last page sheets which in this case is page 1.

The electric motor 90 is energizedand the conveyor belt 82 is started running tocommence operation of the collating machine. The running belt operates the dispensing device actuating system 60 and the collector mechanism 62.

Referring to Fig. 18, it will be seen that the lowest lever. 176 has been rocked angularly to its zero degree position and in doing so has forced the pusher 159 connected therewith toward the conveyor belt 82. The rollers 160, being locked against rotation when the pusher 159 moves in this direction, frictionally drive the uppermost sheet of paper in the lowest tray 118 between the conveyor belt 82 and pressure roller 92. The fiat springs 100 guide the movement of the dispensed sheet so it is properly fed between the pressure roller 92 "and conveyor belt 82.

As thefirst dispensed sheet consisting of page 1 is carried upwardly, ,thenext succeeding lever, being 90 displaced in phase, isactuated from the 270 position shown in Fig. 18 to a 360 position shown in Fig. 19-to cause the associated dispenser'to displace the page 2 stored.

therein. The operation istimed so that the dispensing of page lsynchronizes with the arrival of page 1 from the lower-level and-the net result is thatboth sheets are passed simultaneously through the pressure. roller and.

conveyor belt in exact registry. The .two assembled sheets consisting ofpages 1 and 2 are henceforth forwarded together.

Itwill be noted that. for each quarter turn of the crank 17S thereis a new sheet dispensed and the sheet or sheets on the conveyor will .be moved from one: station to the.

next adjoining station to meet the oncoming sheet undergoing the: dispensing. Thus, the'first. quarter turn of the crank 175 from that shown in :Fig. 18 to that of Fig. 19 will cause the second station from the bottom to dispense the. second sheet in timed relation with the arrival of the previouslydis'pensed page 1 from the bottom station.

At the second quarterturn'of the crank 175 (figuring from the initial position shown in Fig; 18) the dispensing device at the third station from the bottom is actuated to deliver a sheet in timed relation with the arrival of the previously assembled .sheets oneand two.

At the third quarter turn of the crank (Fig. 3) the dispensingdevice at the fourth station from the bottom isactuated to deliver a sheet in timed relation with the oncoming previously assembled sheets stacked'in 1, 2, 3 order. The process continues in quarter cycles until the assembled packet comprising eight pages arrives at'the s top, of the conveyor and is then conducted to the collector. 62;by the" guide shield 102.

.Assu'mingithatthe guide members 192 and 194 are positionedas shown in Figs. 25 and'30, the oncoming. packet P ldotted line Fig. 30) will ride down theside reciprocation oflever 226 by the connecting rod 184awill [act through the rocker arms 224- and 220 to cause the. pit'man 216 to rise and. thereby disengage the righthand .cam.block-221 from the right-hand camfollower. 223'. The spring 227 will move the cross arm 219..fromv the position. in Fig. 25 to theposition in Fig. 26. The toggle spring 224.wil1 maintain the angularity of guide members 192 and 194 asis evident from comparing Figs. 25 and 26.

When the pitman 218' is moved downwardly from the position in Fig. 26, theleft-hand cam block 221 moves against theleft-hand cam follower 223, and the downward force of the pitman 218 produces a movement about pivot 198 swinging the guides 192 and 194 to the position-shown in Fig. 32. Simultaneously the pusher straps 230 are moved from the'position of Fig. 31 to the positionnshown in Fig. 33, where they disengage the packet P from the guide member 192 and force the backing plate 212 away from the guide members a distance equalling the thickness of the packet P When packet P is dispensed and the guide members- 192' and 194 are in the position shown in Fig. 32, further reciprocation 'of-thepitman 216 will bring the right-hand cam block. 221' downwardly into engagement with the right-hand cam follower 223 which develops a turning force, on-thesguide member 194, swinging it from the position of Fig; 32 to the position in Fig. 25. The collector-623s now ready for packet P (not shown) which will be tipped the same as P but the intervening P will separate the packets having the same attitude.

As described, the. collector 62 staggers successivepackets with a slight angularity to facilitate maintaining them i Numerous modifications and revisions will suggest them-- selvesto those skilled in the art, and it is my intention: to includeth'ose revisions and modifications as embody the principles 'ofthe' invention within the scope of the fol lowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a collating machine having apl-urality of paper storage stations located in stepped relationship thereon, of 'aninclinedramp ad acent one end of said stations,--said ramp formed by a pair of spaced? inclined Z-shaped basemembers, each base member having'a-transverseflange at each end of the same and bolt nieans :fastening-'juxtapositioned ledges together to form' aglongifudinal slot be-tween'said base members, a plurality ofidler-rollers mounted in said slot throughout the lengthof said-inclined ramp and an endless conveyor belt' passing oversaid'idler'rollersand extending above the upper end fsaid'ramp; a plurality of transverse rods connecting'the other set of'opposite legs of said base members" together above theinclined ramp formed by: said base members, and a plurality of pressure rollers mounted on, said rods abovesaid idler rollers for engagement with said endless belt.

2; The combination:with a collating machine havinga plurality of paperstorage 1 stations located in stepped relationshipgthereon, of an, inclined ramp adjacent one end of saidstations; said ramp formed by a pair of spaced inclined Z=shaped base members,- each basememberhaving a transverse flange at each end of the same and bolt means fastening juxtapositioned ledges together to form a longitudinal slot between said base members, a plurality of idler rollers mounted in said slot throughout the length of said inclined ramp and an endless conveyor belt passmg over said idler rollers and extending above the upper end of said ramp, a plurality of transverse rods connecting the other set of opposite legs of said base members together above the inclined ramp formed by said base members, and a plurality of pressure rollers mounted on said rods above said idler rollers for engagement with said endless belt, said transverse rods carried in elongated slots in said opposite legs of said base members.

3. The combination with a collating machine having a plurality of paper storage stations located in stepped relationship thereon, of an inclined ramp adjacent one end of said stations, said ramp formed by a pair of spaced inclined Z-shaped base members, each base member having a transverse flange at each end of the same and bolt means fastening juxtapositioned ledges together to form a longitudinal slot between said base members, a plurality of idler rollers mounted in said slot throughout the length of said inclined ramp and an endless conveyor belt passing over said idler rollers and extending above the upper end of said ramp, a plurality of transverse rods connecting the other set of opposite legs of said base members together above the inclined ramp formed by said base members, and a plurality of pressure rollers mounted on said rods above said idler rollers for engagement with said endless belt, said transverse rods carried in elon gated slots in said opposite legs of said base members, and spring means for biasing said pressure rollers against said belt to grip sheets of paper therebetween for upward movement thereon 4. The combination with a collating machine having a plurality of paper storage stations located in stepped relationship thereon, of an inclined ramp adjacent one end of said stations, said ramp formed by a pair of spaced inclined Z-shaped base members, each base member having a transverse flange at each end of the same and bolt means fastening juxtapostioned ledges together to form a longitudinal slot between said base members, a plurality of idler rollers mounted in said slot throughout the length of said inclined ramp and an endless conveyor belt passing over said idler rollers and extending above the upper end of said ramp, a plurality of transverse rods connecting the other set of opposite legs of said base members together above the inclined ramp formed by said base members, a plurality of pressure rollers mounted on said rods above said idler rollers for engagement with said endless belt, said transverse rods carried in elongated slots in said opposite legs of said base members, spring means for biasing said pressure rollers against said belt to grip sheets of paper therebetween for upward movement thereon, and said spring means being flat extended spring members which also press against sheets of paper fed from said storage stations to guide the same between said belt and said pressure rollers.

5. An apparatus for collating paper comprising an inclined guide ramp having transverse side ledges, spaced rods connected between said side ledges, idler pressure rollers mounted on said rods medially between said side ledges, said ramp having a medial longitudinal slot with transverse ledges, a power driven endless belt, two pulleys for said belt, one located at the foot and the other at the top of said ramp, said belt positioned in said longitudinal slot in said ramp to carry upwardly sheets of dispensed paper deposited on said ramp, a plurality of paper storage stations located in stepped relation along the length of the inclined ramp for containing stacked sheets of paper to be assembled in the order of their occurence in successive stations, dispensing means operatively associated with said stations for feeding individual sheets of paper from the stations onto the belt, a plurality of transverse bolts connecting said transverse ledges, a plurality of pulleys mounted on said bolts and cooperating with said belt for pressing the same against said pressure rollers to help said belt grip the sheets of paper therebetween and propel them onwardly, coordinated operating means operatively associated with each of said dispensing means for actuation thereof whereby sheets of paper are dispensed onto the belt in the order of their occurrence in successive stations and synchronously with the position of oncoming previously dispensed paper so that the dispensed sheets are stacked in order, and means for collecting the assembled stacks of sheets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,561,223 Peckham July 17, 1951 2,626,149 Holmberg Jan. 20, 1953 2,787,211 Brown Apr. 2, 1957 2,808,262 Keil Oct. 1, 1957 2,827,288 Geisler Mar. 18, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 516,164 Germany Ian. 19, 1931 

